Young U.S. too much for rival Canada in men's hockey
It's no secret the young United States men's hockey team is fast and skilled.
Turns out the kids can hit, too. Answering all the questions raised about their youth and inexperience, the U.S. went toe to toe with Canada in a bruising matchup between the longtime rivals. Using not just speed and skill but also a healthy dose of physicality, the Americans emerged with a hardearned 4-2 victory Saturday and are unbeaten in two games at the Olympics.
“We didn't back down from their physical play,” said captain Andy Miele, who led the U.S. with a goal and an assist. “I love the way our team responded. I'm so proud of this group. We took a beating. They kept on going forward, we kept on coming back at them and got the outcome that we deserved.”
Thanks to Miele's response goal 70 seconds after Canada scored and 35 saves by Strauss Mann, the U.S. is in the driver's seat to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Beating Germany on Sunday night would put the Americans first in the group and could make them the top seed in the knockout round.
Ben Meyers, Kenny Agostino and Brendan Brisson also scored for the U.S., and Mat Robinson and Corban Knight tallied for Canada.
Canada wraps up preliminary play against China on Sunday night hoping to pick up one of the other three spots in the quarterfinals and avoid the qualification round.
In other action, the Czech Republic beat the Russians 6-5 in overtime, Germany beat China 3-2 and Denmark beat Switzerland 5-3.
Serious allegations
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is investigating charges that longtime Olympic coach Peter Foley took naked pictures of female athletes and that Olympic snowboard racer Hagen Kearney used racist language to provoke a teammate.
Ex-snowboardcross rider Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, a member of the 2010 Olympic team, wrote in an Instagram post that in addition to taking the photos, Foley had made inappropriate comments, and that Kearney repeatedly used the N-word to “intentionally get under my skin.”
Chythlook-Sifsof is from Alaska and describes herself as Yupik and Inupiaq.
Both Foley and Kearney were in China this week for the Games. Foley said he was surprised by the allegations and denied them.
Skeleton
For Kelly Curtis, representation absolutely matters. And in her first Olympic appearance, she became a trailblazer.
Curtis finished 21st in the women's skeleton, but the result isn't why she'll be remembered. Curtis was the first Black athlete to represent USA Skeleton at the Olympics — and she hopes her presence at the Games will open more doors to her sport.
“It's pretty important. It's part of my identity, but it's not the only thing that I lean on,” Curtis said. “I would like to be known as one of the best sliders. It's nice with a cherry on top to be known as the first Black Olympian for USA Skeleton, but I would also like to be one of the best. So that that's really what I'm trying to progress toward every time I go out there and slide.”
Hannah Neise was the surprise gold medalist. The 21-year-old became the first German woman to capture the gold medal in Olympic skeleton by rallying in the final two heats to edge out silver medalist Jaclyn Narracott of Australia and bronze medalist Kimberley Bos of the Netherland
Cross-country skiing
The Russian cross-country skiing team started strong and finished strong Saturday in the women's 4x5 kilometer relay, winning another Olympic gold medal.
Yulia Stupak broke away early with nine women chasing. On the next leg, Natalia Nepryaeva was chased down by Katharina Hennig of Germany.
The Germans briefly took the lead on the last lap, with Russian skier Veronika Stepanova just behind Sofie Krehl. But Stepanova pulled away on the final climb and won in 53 minutes, 41 seconds. Germany took silver, 18.2 seconds behind. Sweden edged Finland for bronze.
Ski jumping
Marius Lindvik of Norway won Olympic gold in the men's large hill event, holding off Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan.
Lindvik jumped 140 meters on his final attempt and earned 296.1 points overall to become the first Norwegian to win the event since Toralf Engan in 1964.
Kobayashi earned silver after winning on the normal hill earlier in the Games. Karl Geiger of Germany finished third.
Snowboarding
Lindsey Jacobellis won her second gold medal of the Games, teaming with 40-year-old Nick Baumgartner for the title in the new event of mixed snowboardcross.
The 36-year-old Jacobellis took gold earlier this week in the women's event; it came 16 years after a late showboat move as she was cruising in for an apparent win cost her the title at the Turin Games.
The Italian team of Omar Visintin and Michela Moioli won silver and the Canadian duo of Eliot Grondin and Meryeta O'Dine won gold.
Speedskating
Gao Tingyu thrilled the home crowd by becoming the first Chinese man to claim an Olympic gold medal in speedskating, winning the men's 500 meters.
And Gao did it in an Olympic-record 34.32 seconds.
The silver went to South Korea's Cha Min Kyu, and Wataru Morishige of Japan took the bronze.
Ice dancing
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron broke their own world record in the rhythm dance, scoring 90.83 points to begin the ice dance event. That gave the four-time world champs from France a cushion heading into the free dance.